[Report 1938] / Chief Sanitary Inspector, Aberdeen City.

  • Aberdeen (Scotland). City Council
Date:
1938
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1938] / Chief Sanitary Inspector, Aberdeen City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/256 page 2
    RETROSPECT. (a) HOUSING. It is appropriate on the present occasion to include in this Report a brief review of the housing conditions during, approximately, the last fifty years. In common with nearly all large towns, Aberdeen carried out several irrportant town improvement schemes in pre-war times. These schemes were partly, and often mainly, for the provision of nev/ streets or accesses, and partly for the simultaneous removal of old or slum property. Undernoted are particulars of those schemes carried out during the years preceding the war. In 1883, 3. local Act was passed authorising the carrying out of a considerable number of street improvements, the chief of which was the formation of a new access by an important viaduct across the Denburn to the Rosemoiint or north-western district of the Cxty. The scheme involved the demolition of some old or more or less slum proi^erty in the vicinity of I^per Denburn - one of the oldest parts of the City outside the original city wall. This Act also authorised the widening of Justice Street - the upper part of the main thoroughfare to the Links. Along with this widening, an old over-populated area of considerable size, with much slum property, and lying between Justice Street and East North Street, was removed or thinned out. In a later local Act of 1900, power was obtained to carry out several irrportant street improvements, including the v/idening of Union Bridge, but these did not involve the removal of much old or slum property. Under an irrportant local Act of 1 90I+, the To^vn Council obtained power to widen the Gallowgate, one of the older principal thoroughfares of the City. Along with the widening, practically the v/hole of the highly congested area lying to the east of the Gallowgate was completely cleared, and new streets laid out for feuing purposes, although practically none of it has yet been built upon. A part of this area has been laid out as a children's playground, and is fitted up with swings and similar appliances. This Act also gave the Town Council power to construct in part a new main thoroughfare from Holburn Street to the suburban Railway Station, and to lay out certain new streets to the south of Holburn Street. These involved the demolition of some old property. These improvement schemes cost the Town Council about £250,000 - which figure is exclusive of a sum of about £44>000 spent in connection with the provision of new public parks. In addition to these schemes, there was one other which the Town Council promoted primarily in the interests of the extension of Iferischal College, but which had also in view the widening of part of Broad Street, and the removal of a considerable area of slum property to the east of Broad Street, About £60,000 to £70,000 was expended by the University and the Town Council in the acquisition of old, and mostly slum property. The Tovm Council’s contribution to the University building scheme, in money and in property, was about £30,000. Neanly all the dwelling-houses demolished under those schemes were in such a condition as to make it moi'e or less desirable that they should have been removed on account of their own conditj.on, apart from the improvement schemes with which they were associated. The number of dwellings demolished was about 830, and the displaced population was about 3>600. Some difficulty arose in connection with certain of these clearances, more especially the clearance for the extension of Marischal College, in finding suitable houses for the displaced population. Some old houses which had/
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